The Oscar winner is leading the cast of a revival of race drama A Raisin in the Sun, and the critics love his performance as chauffeur Walter Lee Younger.

Variety has called his latest role "a personal triumph", while USA Today insists Washington's portrayal is "riveting".

British actress Sophie Okonedo also won praise in her Broadway debut as Washington's onstage wife.

New York Times critic Ben Brantley writes, "Despite the central presence of a movie megastar, the 2014 Raisin has a welcome egalitarianism," while The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney adds, "Washington is the star attraction, but it's the harmonious balance of an impeccably matched ensemble that makes (director) Kenny Leon's lovingly staged revival of A Raisin in the Sun so alive with authentic feeling."

He continues: "Washington slides and swaggers around with the physicality of a still-young man who refuses to let go of his dreams."